


Bonus Zones

by Silex



Category: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Genre: Bonus Zone, Other, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Video Game Logic, Video Game Mechanics, seriously everyone has too many names, tagging for characters in this fandom is mad hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 03:05:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14126730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silex/pseuds/Silex
Summary: When Bethany catches sight of something unexpected on the map it leads for an interesting detour for her and the others, especially her and Alex. A detour made more interesting by the bodies the game has given them and the opportunity to explore more than the jungle. It is just a game after all, so why not try something a little crazy. Or more than a little crazy.





	Bonus Zones

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thinlizzy2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/gifts).



> Saw this request, waffled on filling it, saw that no one had written anything similar in this fandom and decided what the heck, it'll be fun. Hopefully I did an alright job of it. Also, to the requester, awesome pen name you have, it's part of what made your request stand out to me.

“Which way now?” Spencer asked, except it was more like demanding, as he tried to look at the map over her shoulder.

“It’s, uh… here?” Bethany pointed at a new area that had revealed itself on the map, then remembered that she was the only one who could read it, “Right, it says that it’s this way to the next level, but…”

“Not worth the risk,” Alex interrupted, “I’ve got only one life left and I’m not going to take any more chances.”

“Because Bethany gave you one of hers,” Martha added unhelpfully.

“Can we just keep going?” Anthony butted in, “Because I’d really like to get back to being, well, me.”

“We all want to get out of here,” Spencer agreed, “That’s why we need to keep moving. Which way Bethany?”

The thing was, Bethany couldn’t help noticing that he didn’t sound all that convinced, about them wanting to get out at least. That and the way he was starting to boss everyone around was really starting to bug her. It was awesome that he was having fun and all, but he was starting to take the whole ‘Dr. Smolder Bravestone’ thing way too seriously. It was cool that he was really enjoying how great his new body was and she couldn’t blame him at all. Dr. Bravestone really was something to look at and she’d been acutely aware of the effect it had on her.

Especially in her new body.

It was frustrating because she wished that they had more time to slow down and check things out. It wasn’t that she liked being an overweight, middle-aged man, but this was a chance that she’d never have again and she was curious.

Just like she was curious about something that she’d noticed on the map. Every so often one of the blank areas, to the south of where they were headed, would sort of blink a little. She wasn’t sure how else to think of it, but there was a sort of flash that caught her attention. The first time she’d assumed that she was seeing things, but there it was again.

“Bethany…” Martha sighed, “Which way?”

“That way,” she snapped, pointing in the direction of the garage or whatever it was that Alex was so afraid of getting to, “But there’s something else, a thing on the map that I don’t get.”

“What sort of thing?” Spencer asked worriedly, “Where?”

“I don’t actually know what it is,” she admitted, “But there’s something like blinking here, right off to the side of any place we’ve been. It’s like there’s something there, but I don’t know what.”

Martha rolled her eyes, “It’s a glitch or something.”

At the same time Antony smiled, “I bet it’s a secret area.”

They all looked at him.

Bethany wasn’t sure if she liked the sound of that. If it was a secret should they try to find it out in case it helped them, or was it something that they should leave alone? Secrets and gossip were fun, but you had to be careful not to have them turned against you.

“Where is it?” Alex put a hand on her shoulder as he came up behind her to look at the map, which was silly since it’d be blank to him too, “I’ve found some stuff in here that’s not part of the main game, probably the only reason I’m still alive. There are shortcuts and secret paths that are relatively safe.”

Hearing him say that made her feel so bad for him, he’d been stuck here for so long and she really wanted to help him, but the only way to help him was to keep going and he really didn’t want to do that.

Except there might be another way to help him, by stalling. She could put off going forward for as long as she could. It wouldn’t help any of them, but it wouldn’t hurt either and it would make Alex happy.

So she tried to explain where the blink was as best as she was able, using landmarks both on the map and what they’d seen up to that point. While she described things Anthony and Spencer kept going back and forth about what it might be.

“Extra lives,” was Spencer’s suggestion.

Anthony countered with, “Power-ups!”

“A secret way to bypass the next level?”

“That would be good,” Anthony agreed, “But what about weapons?”

“Ooh, that would be cool,” Spencer nodded, “Something to use against the final boss to make things easier?”

“Right, I forgot about that, there’s going to be a final boss….”

“It’s the Lion’s Rest Grotto,” Alex said with a shrug as she finished her attempt at describing what she’d found on the map, “The NPCs in the bazar talk about it sometimes, if you hang out for long enough, and I’ve gone looking for it, but I’ve never actually found it.”

“What’s there?” Martha asked, sounding glad that there was a conversation going on that she could actually join.

Another shrug, “I don’t know, never actually managed to make it there. It is some sort of bonus zone, but I’ve got no clue what it’s good for. The NPCs don’t say what it is, just that it’s a great place for two people to go.”

“Only two people?” Anthony complained, obviously disappointed, “Well, we know who’s going then.”

He looked back and forth between Spencer and Martha.

At first Bethany was inclined to agree, making both Dr. Bravestone and Ruby Roundhouse better seemed like a good idea. Make their strongest characters stronger to help with whatever Jumanji was going to throw at them next made sense, or at least as much sense as anything did in this place. She still couldn’t believe that just eating pound cake had made Anthony explode and then a mosquito bite, one little mosquito, had nearly killed Alex. Would have killed him if not for her acting to save him.

“I don’t know,” Spencer said with the archetypical ‘Dr. Bravestone intense smolder’.

Martha blushed.

Bethany giggled.

Anthony rolled his eyes, “What’s there not to know?”

Going back to being his typical uncertain self for just a second Spencer looked down at his feet, “This game is really big on cooperative play so stacking buffs on me and Ruby might not be the best way to do things.”

“I get it!” Martha said cheerfully, “We want to bring up our weakest members instead, rather than relying on just one strong person. In that case we need to send Anthony and Bethany.”

“Thanks,” Bethany said, not sure if it was just Martha being totally socially inept or her usual tendency to say the absolute worst, more unhelpful thing. She was getting better about it, but it was still annoying, “But I think we should send Alex, he’s been here longer so he knows this place better than any of us.”

Anthony smiled and hefted his backpack, “I’m not going to complain. Anything to get better at this crazy game. I hope it’s a buff or something. I mean strength a weakness? Come on, I could stand some improvements.”

“That settles it then,” Spencer’s uncertainty was gone, “Bethany and Anthony it is.”

“I said we should send Alex,” Bethany frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing, a gesture she realized probably wasn’t as impressive as it could have been given that she wasn’t her usual drop-dead-gorgeous self and she was scowling up at Spencer in all his over-muscled glory. If he had any sense he would probably start hitting the gym once they got out of the game. It wouldn’t make him Dr. Bravestone, but he could still stop being suck a skinny nerd.

If they got out of the game.

No, she couldn’t think like that. They were going to get out of the game. They wouldn’t let themselves get stuck for years and years like poor Alex had.

“What if I don’t want to go?” Alex spoke up, giving Bethany an apologetic look, “I mean it’s great that you’re so sure you can get out of here, but I’m not taking any chances. It’d be wasted on me.”

Bethany took a deep breath to calm down and gather her thoughts. It was good that he felt bad about turning down her offer, which meant that she was halfway to being able to convince him to take her up on it. She wasn’t above being a little manipulative, especially if it was for his own good, “But we don’t even know what it is and you already seem to know where the place is. It would be safer if you were to take Anthony there.”

“That works,” Martha agreed, sounding like she just wanted the arguing to stop, “You and Anthony go and –”

“Except that won’t work,” Alex snapped, “I couldn’t find the place when I looked for it. One of the people who goes is going to have to be Bethany. Because she’s the only one who can read the map.”

“So we go with my original plan then,” Spencer cut back in, “Bethany and Anthony.”

“Or I figure out where it is, point you in the right direction and then Alex and Anthony go,” Bethany countered.

Martha threw her hands up in exasperation, “How about we all just go there together and figure things out once we find the place?”

None of the others could think of anything to say to that so the matter was settled, mostly.

Bethany led the way, Alex confirming that they were heading in the right direction, and before long they reached a river.

“It’s upstream from here, at least it’s supposed to be,” Alex commented, while Bethany eyed the water warily.

The river was clear enough that she could see the bottom, but she didn’t want to take any chances after the first encounter she’d had with Jumanji’s wildlife. Rhinos or hippos, or whatever it was that had eaten her, probably couldn’t be hiding in it, but there was no telling what else there might be in the water here. Snakes or piranhas or turtles or something equally slimy and nasty.

“I never encountered anything dangerous,” Alex added, noticing the way she was looking at the water, “Every time I came here I’d follow the stream up to the waterfall, but that was as far as I could get. It’s supposed to be somewhere around there, but I never found it.”

Sure enough they managed to make it the waterfall without any trouble and that was where they stopped.

“This is Lion’s Mane Falls,” Bethany said as the name appeared on the map, “So we’ve got to be in the right place, but I don’t see any grotto, whatever that is. Sounds like a fancy coffee or something. Like ‘I’ll order the caramel mocha Frappuccino and make it a grotto’.”

Martha snickered, “A grotto is a cave.”

“Oh,” Bethany looked closer at the map, “That makes sense. Because I think the place is behind the waterfall. So it’s a cave behind a waterfall. That kind of sucks because I could go for an iced coffee right now.”

“Behind the waterfall?” Spencer sounded skeptical, “Are you sure you’re reading that thing right?”

“I’d let you try if you could,” Bethany sighed, holding the map out to him, “Feel free to give any input you want.”

“I see a kind of path now that you mention it,” Alex peered past her, “See those rocks?”

Sure enough there was a series of wide, flat rocks along the edge of the pool at the foot of the falls. They vanished behind the white spray of the falls, but there might have been something behind it.

“So that’s where we go. Let’s move,” Anthony started, only for Spencer to yank him back by his backpack.

“Alex said that it’s only for two people,” he reminded, “And we still haven’t decided which two of us it’s going to be.”

“How about we all go?” Bethany offered, “Maybe then we can just pick which two of us get the thing based on what it ends up being.”

“That could work,” Spencer said, still holding onto Anthony, “So you lead the way.”

“And Alex can follow me if we’re all going,” she said quickly, before anyone else could volunteer to go next.

“I guess, if you’re all going,” Alex said, getting behind her, “I mean I owe you for giving me one of your lives like that so the least I can do is catch you if you start to slip or something. Besides, if you’re all going I don’t want to get left behind.”

“If we’re worried about that I’ll go next,” Spencer said, “Because I’m pretty sure I could catch either of you. Anthony, you follow me and Ruby can bring up the rear to keep an eye on you.”

Bethany noted that he was calling Martha by her character’s name again, but she didn’t comment on it. If thinking of himself as Smolder Bravestone was helping Spencer then she wasn’t going to argue and if the same thing worked for Martha, then whatever. If it worked, it worked.

“Why me?” Martha protested.

“Because,” Anthony stared at her, “I’m the one with all the weaknesses here. If you slip and I try to catch you, boom, you’re down a life too and then we’re all down to one.”

It was a sound argument, one that Martha didn’t try to counter, instead she brought up the rear, looking nervous, but determined.

Carefully Bethany stepped onto the first of the stones and started forward. They were big enough that balancing wasn’t too hard, but they were slick with water, meaning that going too fast wasn’t a good idea. The closer they get to the waterfall the slipperier it got and the more she had to concentrate on not losing her balance.

Spray from the falls hit her face and splashed onto her clothing, quickly soaking her to the bone in cold water.

When she hesitated for a moment, holding her hands out for balance on the second to last stone visible before they went under the falls, Alex took her hand.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

“Don’t mention it,” he laughed, “Your friend Spencer’s holding mine so there’s that.”

She looked back and saw that he was right, they were all holding hands, a human chain to keep them all safe. It was a heartening sight to see, them all working together.

Emboldened she went to the next stone, standing on the very edge as it was half under the falls.

“Hold tight, please,” she whispered, and closing her eyes, stepped under the water.

Opening them on the other side she was greeted by the most amazing sight.

There was indeed a cave behind the waterfall and it was gorgeous. Instead of being dank, musty and full of bats like she’d expected a cave to be, the walls were a shimmering gray from the water and covered in crystals of all colors, light shining through the water reflecting off them, turning the waterfall into a rainbow. Looking up, instead of bats, there were flowers hanging from the ceiling of the cave, deep red and gold blooms, nectar dripping off them and filling the cave with a wonderful, sweet scent.

Forgetting for a moment that the trip under the falls had left her soaking wet, she stepped forward onto the next stone, pulling Alex in behind her, who, to shield his eyes from the water, had let go of Spencer’s hand.

“Wow,” he turned in a circle on the stone, taking it all in, “I never imagined that this was here.”

“Alright, me next,” Spencer’s voice could be heard faintly over the water, “Let’s go!”

Alex got out of the way in anticipation, but Spencer never came through the water, instead he seemed to bounce off it as though it were a solid thing.

“Oh crap!”

Bethany could see his silhouette through the curtain of water and he was rubbing at his head.

“Invisible wall,” he warned, turning back to the others.

“What invisible wall?” That was Martha, “I don’t see it.”

She then maneuvered past Anthony and Spencer and hurried forward, or at least she tried to.

When she bounced off the wall if Spencer hadn’t been there to catch her she would have ended up in the pool.

“That’s why it’s an invisible wall,” Anthony snickered.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” Bethany called back to them, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s a videogame mechanic,” Spencer explained, “Usually they’re there to keep a player from getting into an area they’re not supposed to. I guess since the bonus zone is for only two people there’s one blocking us out of it now. If it looks safe you two should keep going and come back when you get the upgrade. We can wait here.”

Shrugging, the two of them went deeper into the cave.

“At least it’s not creepy,” Bethany said, looking down and noticing gigantic lily pads with bright orange and purple flowers floating in the water.

“Or dangerous,” Alex agreed, “A little cold, but harmless.”

Up ahead light streamed in through a hole in the cave roof, shining down on a warm looking sandy beach. Bethany shivered and hurried over to it, suddenly aware of how cold and damp her clothing was.

In the sun it felt about ten degrees warmer and she could hear birds chirping overhead.

Off to one side a tree was growing, a very strange tree, its curving branches laden with just about every type of fruit imaginable, including a number that she couldn’t recognize.

“Oh, those things are awesome!” Alex said, pointing at some sort of bright red, spiky looking fruit.

“What is it?”

“No idea,” he shrugged, coming up next to her, “But they have them at the bazar and every time I see them I get them. They’re that good.”

He was smiling, at least he was until he noticed what she already had.

Other than the tree there was nothing else in the area, no bonus, no power up, whatever that was even supposed to be.

“Figures,” he sighed, “But at least it’s a nice area, some place safe to rest.”

That seemed to be all it was good for. Pretty as the place was, it was little more than a secluded beach.

“So,” she looked around one last time, “Do we turn around or what?”

They both tensed then laughed at themselves for being so jumpy as a small yellow and green bird fluttered down into the cave and landed on the tree.

“Just a bird,” she giggled, “Nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, though in this place you never know…”

The bird hopped from branch to branch in the tree and then stared right at them and tilted its head to the side.

Letting out a shrill whistle, it proved Alex to be right.

Bobbing up and down it chanted in a singsong voice, ‘ _If you search you’ll find no test, this beach is just a place to rest. But since for now it’s just you two, try something you’ll not get another chance to do!_ ’

The bird repeated its little rhyme twice more before flying off.

Alex looked at her, “This place…”

“Is so weird,” she finished.

“That’s videogames for you,” he smiled wryly and got up, “They don’t need to make sense, they’re just something to do to kill time. Except this one is for real.”

Bethany shivered uncomfortably in her wet clothes.

“If you’re cold undress and hang your stuff out in the sun to dry. It’s warm enough here that,” he stopped, seeing the look she was giving him, “What?”

“You’re just saying that because you want to see…” she trailed off when Alex gave her a look. Right, she’d forgotten, because she was Professor Shelly Oberon there was nothing for Alex to see. Unless he had a thing for out of shape older men.

When they got out of here she was going to have to double down on her diet and it would be crunches morning and evening every day. Hmm, would that be an excuse to be late for school? It was technically a medical thing, that she had to spend the time working out to get skinny again so maybe she could miss first period. Except, no, she’d be back to herself then so she’d be fine, unless she said it was a mental thing, like she was so afraid of getting fat that for her mental wellbeing she needed to come in late so she could do crunches.

“You really are a girl,” Alex laughed, “I mean the way you act, the way your friends talk about you, but still.”

He gestured vaguely at her.

“Not just a girl,” her hands immediately went to where her purse should have been to pull out her phone and show him proof. Not finding it she reflexively began to check her pockets, “I’m totally hot, and I’m not like some slut either, sleeping with every guy she meets, so don’t think that either.”

The last part had been unnecessary, but Martha and her negative attitude had made her rather defensive.

Instead of focusing on any of what she’d said Alex gave her a confused look, “What are you doing?”

“Looking for my phone,” she shook her head, “Isn’t it obvious? I keep forgetting that this stupid game took it from me. I’d love to update my Facebook status as ‘lost in the freaking jungle right now in case any of you were wondering’.”

“Okay,” he didn’t look any less confused, “But what’s that supposed to mean?”

She stopped her pointless search, “What, Facebook?”

“Yeah, that, and phone. I don’t think it means the same thing when you say it.”

“Phone,” she laughed, “You know, the little rectangular thing you keep in your purse and use to talk to and text your friends with, do video chat, take selfies to post on Facebook, go on the internet, stuff like that.”

“You really are from the future,” he sounded shaken as he said that, “Unless you’re joking. Because I didn’t understand half of that and how do you keep a phone in your purse? What’s it plugged into?”

“You just charge it overnight,” she shrugged, never having given much thought to her phone. Ever since she’d turned twelve she’d had one and it was pretty much just a part of her now, like her makeup or… This place had really messed things up and made everything weird, “Umm, enough phone talk maybe?”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m going to go back and check with the others. Maybe you pick some of the fruit from that tree so we can bring it back or something, just so this isn’t all a complete waste,” Alex said, trying and failing to hide the frustration in his voice as he stomped off.

This sucked. She hadn’t meant to upset him, but clearly she had.

Sitting down on the sun-warmed sand she shivered again. Instead of doing as Alex had asked she went with the advice he’d originally given her and took off her wet outfit, or at least her jacket, vest and shirt, and shoes and socks too, because wet boots were really, really uncomfortable.

It did feel better, getting out of her soaked clothing, but it didn’t make her feel any better, not when she looked at herself. Unlike Smolder Bravestone, Professor Oberon wasn’t much to look at. Some parts of being him were kind of neat, well, one part really, but she couldn’t imagine being stuck this way for any length of time, especially not for years, like Alex. He at least didn’t have it too bad, ending up totally hot, though she was willing to bet that he was hot in real life too. When they got out of the game she’d get a chance to see and he’d get to see her as well, which was a good thing because she was seriously considering asking him on a date. It was sudden and out of nowhere, but she’d saved his life, which had to count for something, right?

Except they still had to get out of the game and they were going to need Alex’s help for that. Until she could convince him to take the risk, that they’d keep him safe, she was going to be stuck in the game.

As Professor Shelly Oberon.

Why couldn’t she have picked Ruby Roundhouse?

Even Smolder Bravestone would have been better, he certainly would have given her something to look at.

Never before in her life had she felt so awkward.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. There had been the time back in sixth grade where she’d worn her shirt inside out all day and no one had mentioned it to her at all. The next day she’d felt pretty freaking awkward, waiting for someone to say something. She’d been sure that they’d all been thinking about it, trying to decide what to say, but no one had. The worrying had been the worst part, which was part of the reason she’d made such an effort to stop caring about what people thought about her. Instead she set things up so perfectly that no one would think anything bad about her and if they did they were just jealous and that was something she couldn’t fix.

Except maybe that was another way of worrying.

Stupid game, making everything so complicated that she had to worry.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Alex’s return. Soaking wet and frustrated, he stripped off his jacket and tossed it to the ground, a moment later his shirt came off as well.

Well, at least that was a pleasant distraction, Bethany smiled. Very pleasant. Unlike Smolder Bravestone, Alex wasn’t overly muscled. He was, she thought the term for it was, cut. His muscles were well defined without being bulky and he had just a little bit of chest hair. That was something she really liked on guys.

Blushing she looked away as he sat down next to her and glared at nothing in particular.

Something had happened, something bad.

He wasn’t going to say anything without her asking though, it was a guy thing that she didn’t get, suffering in silence unless someone pressed them for a reason as they tried to figure things out. Talking about problems made it so much easier, or at least more fun because sharing a bit of juicy gossip about someone you were mad at always helped. Of course there was no one to be mad at, just the game.

“Okay,” she went to brush her hair back in a cute, flirty kind of way, only to remember that she didn’t have long hair anymore, “What happened?”

“The stupid invisible wall works both ways,” he scowled, “We’re stuck in here until your friends figure out some puzzle. That bird must have gone to them right after telling us this wasn’t a test. It isn’t, for us at least. They’ve got some puzzle to solve though. Don’t ask me what it is, it was hard enough to hear them over the waterfall and they kept interrupting each other.”

“Sounds about right,” Bethany said, “But they’ll figure it out.”

“And until they do we’re stuck,” then he got up to pace, giving he the opportunity to look at him without him noticing.

Easy on the eyes was an understatement.

“There are worse places to be stuck,” she said quietly.

“For sure,” he stopped pacing long enough to smile at her, “This game has some pretty crazy stuff in it.”

She blushed and looked away, “You must have seen a lot of it.”

“Yeah, this isn’t the only weird secret area this place has,” he laughed, “Some of the stuff I found, it’s like partially completed levels or something, because the main path doesn’t take you anywhere near them. This game is way bigger than what you’ve seen. And, well stuff’s changed, not much, but a little over time, more so when you and your friends got here. It’s like the game’s still being made.”

“So,” she looked around, making a point not to look directly at him while he was talking to her, kind of an awkward thing to do, but with the majority of her usual flirting methods taken from her playing coy or maybe feigning disinterest felt safe, “Maybe whatever’s supposed to be here, the bonus the guys were talking about, isn’t here yet?”

“Maybe,” he stopped pacing and sat down next to her, “But I don’t want to talk about the game right now. Not when…”

He didn’t finish, he didn’t need to. Both of them were mad at the game for different reasons, but it wasn’t a productive fun mad where they could say mean things about it and laugh and feel better. It was the kind of brooding mad that could ruin a whole day.

“What do you want to talk about then?” She smiled, “Like, what are you interested in?”

Since phone talk had been upsetting to him she didn’t want to try music or feigning an interest in sports because what if his favorite team wasn’t playing anymore or one of his favorite players had quit or whatever could happen with sports over time that could upset a person. Making conversation was hard when you had to try and talk about actual things.

“I don’t know,” he drew his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them, “Tell me about you I guess.”

However he looked, he was still a guy her age and that at least was familiar territory. He was sulking a little, which was so cute and he wanted to know about her, which was awesome, but also hard. What could she say about herself to impress him or at least make a good impression?

“That’s kind of not much to talk about,” she said and then winced at her own words, no, making herself sound uninteresting was not the right thing to do, “I mean I’m cute, popular, but what else do you want to know?”

“Well,” he looked at her and smiled, a real smile, not an awkward one, not a pity smile, “You’ve got a great sense of humor.”

She brightened at that, “Really?”

“Yeah, and I believe you about being popular,” he said earnestly, “When you found the game you got all your friends to play it with you.”

“Oh,” her smile fell, “I didn’t find the game and they’re not really my friends. We all ended up in detention together.”

For whatever reason that impressed him.

“Wow! All four of you at once? What were you all doing? That’s got to be a wild story.”

“Not really,” she looked away, wishing that she could think of a way to move the conversation in a different direction, one that would make her look better or at least more interesting, “We weren’t doing anything together. I think Spencer and Anthony were cheating on tests or something, Martha got mouthy with a teacher, called them stupid to their face I think. And I just wasn’t paying attention during class.”

“So normal stuff,” he smiled, “Though that must have been some pretty impressive not paying attention in class to get detention for it. So the story is, you all got detention and somehow you smuggled in your game console and hooked it up to a TV to pass the time.”

That made for a much better story because it cast her in a better light and he sounded impressed by the idea, but she couldn’t play along with it because it was too much of a lie and she didn’t want to lie to him. On the bright side it let her go to one of her favored tactics when talking to guys, turn the conversation back to them talking about them, “That’s not how it happened. We just found the game and Spencer was the one who hooked it up and got it going. But why do you think I was the one who did it?”

“Isn’t it obvious,” he looked at her disbelievingly, ticking off the points on his fingers, “You’re the only one who knows what they’re doing, you’re leading the way, you’ve only lost one life, and you figured out that there was a life sharing mechanic.”

Well, when he put it that way she did seem a lot more impressive, still, “Thanks, you really think I know what I’m doing?”

“Yeah,” he nodded enthusiastically, “You’re way more together than I was when I first ended up stuck here.”

“Thanks,” she blushed and looked away, but not for long. It was hard for her to keep her eyes off of Alex and he noticed.

“Alright,” he smiled and then looked away, “I’m not being a jerk, but you really are a girl, so what it’s like?”

“What’s what like?” Because they were both stuck in the game, so he couldn’t be talking about that.

“Being stuck as a guy. I mean I know if I’d picked Ruby Roundhouse as a character I’d probably still be,” he paused and his smile grew, “Getting acquainted with the new me, so what’s it like for you?”

Oh, that.

“I don’t know, pretty cool I guess,” Bethany smiled and then looked down at herself. Her smile fell. Not only was Professor Oberon overweight, he was pasty and it would take more than one day at the beach to get any color, “Or some of it is cool. I think it’d probably be better if I ended up as Smolder Bravestone or I guess, your character.”

That was something she hadn’t thought of. What was Alex like in real life? She didn’t think he’d be ugly or anything, not when he was so nice, but what if he was weird or something? He didn’t seem weird, but there was no telling. Some of her exes had seemed pretty awesome at first, but they’d turned out to be real weirdos.

“I’m glad you’re not Smolder Bravestone,” he said quickly, too quickly, “Because that’d be weird.”

“Weird how?” She wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but it was certainly an interesting direction.

“Having someone who looked like that into me, even if they’re really a girl. A hot girl,” he added with a smile, “Would be too much. I wouldn’t be able to believe it. But with you the way you are now I guess it’s kind of okay, somehow and…”

“And what?” She urged, curious to see what he was getting at. Because it sounded like he was into her too, even with her the way she was now.

“Okay, I’m sure you want to see what you can do with you being a guy and all, but since you’re really a girl it’s okay and all or not too weird at least and that stupid bird suggested that we should try something, so do you want to fool around some? I mean if I was a girl all of a sudden I’d want to see what it’s like so I bet you want to do the same.”

“Yes!” Then she considered things, “But how? I mean you’re…and I’m…”

“Well…” he made a few very suggestive gestures that immediately took her mind all sorts of places.

Because unless she was totally wrong, what he was getting at was a lot more than just fooling around.

“Like you doing that to me?” She liked the idea, but she wasn’t sure about it. One of her exes had asked her for that kind of thing, but she’d said no, but she’d been herself at the time and now that she was a guy there wasn’t really another option, was there?

“Or you to me,” this time he was the one to blush and look away, “Because why the hell not?”

“Sure, I guess we can do that,” she struggled to hide how absolutely thrilled she was with the idea, because she’d never imagined getting the chance to try something like that, but she realized, when Alex looked downwards, it was impossible to hide. That was apparently something that she hadn’t considered about being a guy and everything that it entailed, some things were way more obvious.

“Alright, but not on the beach,” he stood up took her hand and pulled her to her feet, “That would be way too uncomfortable.”

Fortunately past the beach there was an area where soft, springy moss grew. Thick and plush, the greenery made it seem almost like it was intended for what Alex had suggested. Was that what the game wanted? Because that was kind of creepy, like someone would be watching them.

“What now?” She asked, watching as Alex unzipped his fly, giving her her first look at what he had going on. It was impressive as the rest of him.

“Is this like your first time?” he asked, stroking himself as she watched, putting on a bit of a show for her benefit with the way he fondled himself.

“As a guy,” she giggled nervously, rubbing at herself through her pants, surprised at how hard she had gotten just from watching him, just from being around him really, “I know how things work and all, but this is kind of different.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “So we can take things slow. First let’s just see what you have.”

Bethany unzipped her fly, letting her erection spring free.

It had seemed big when she’d gotten a look at what she was like soft, but now that she was hard, “Wow!”

The look on Alex’s face said that he agreed.

“I…” he smiled nervously, “Was not expecting that. That’s…wow.”

“If you don’t want to let me we don’t have to,” she said quickly, without actually meaning it. Since he’d made the offer she really wanted to try her new anatomy out, see what it felt like. One way or another she was going to get him to let her do something to see what it was like, even if it was just convincing him to give her a blowjob.

He seemed to understand this, because he shook his head, “Nah, I said we were going to do something and I’ll stick to that, but I might need to think things over a little. Figure out the best way to…”

“While you think do you mind if I…” instead of wasting time talking she reached out and took his cock in her hand. Despite his playing with himself he was only half hard, probably from nervousness. Her ministrations quickly fixed that though. Despite his surprise at how well-endowed she was, or Professor Oberon was really, he wasn’t too shabby himself. Bigger than average if any of her past boyfriends were anything to go by.

He leaned against her, “I don’t mind at all, not at all.”

Then he took her cock in his hand and began to stroke.

She had no idea if he was especially good at what he was doing, being a guy he probably had plenty of practice on himself, or if she was just so unused to how it felt having a cock that anything he did to her would have felt good, but the handjob he was giving her felt amazing.

“You’re really good with your hands,” he hissed through clenched teeth as she shifted her grip to rub at his cockhead before resuming stroking his shaft, “I mean really good. It’s not just that it’s been forever since I’ve had the chance to come either.”

A kind of backhanded compliment, but she was willing to take it, even if it made her curious, “Why not? I mean you must have been bored and with nothing else to do.”

And imagining him jacking himself off, wow, that was a hot thought.

Unable to help herself, she thrust into his hand a few times, the movement practically reflexive when he adjusted his grip on her. If it always felt this good she was sure that if she were in his situation she’d play with herself daily, maybe twice a day.

“Being trapped alone in the jungle, worrying about pretty much everything, not really conductive, you know?”

There was that, she supposed, “So you needed someone to give you a hand?”

It was a bad joke, but he still laughed. Then he stopped.

She was about to protest when he spat on his palm and went right back to playing with her cock.

Closing her eyes she shuddered. She’d been wrong, what he’d been doing earlier felt great, what he was doing now was amazing. Somehow the little bit of lubrication made everything better, made her more sensitive if that was even possible.

“We’re going to need…” she gasped, struggling to get the words out, “If you were serious we’re going to… I don’t know how much longer I can…”

It was different as a guy, but she was pretty sure that she was getting close and if he kept going her coming was imminent.

“Right, it’s your first time,” he said apologetically, “Okay then, so I guess we can –”

“Lay down,” she finished for him, “Just lay down and get your legs up. I want to be able to see you when I fuck you.”

He hesitated for a moment, but at least he stopped stroking her, giving her a few seconds to regain her composure.

Part of the reason for her request was because she did want to be able to look at him, but there was more to it than that. Him being on the bottom, laying on his back while she was the one on top excited her because it felt like such an inversion of what she was used to, not just her being the man, but Alex being in what she associated as the more feminine position. It was hot and just the thought was enough that it was hard to her to hold back.

Another chance to regain her composure came during the slightly awkward moment that followed both of them finishing undressing, tossing their pants and respective undergarments to the side before they could resume.

Alex did as she’d asked, laying back and lifting his legs. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable position, for him at least, but she was pretty sure that she’d be able to manage.

Kneeling down, she worked to figure how to best position herself and got ready.

“Wait!” Alex moved his legs to block her, “Don’t go in dry like that. Spit on your hand first.”

Right, she’d forgotten. It was a good thing that he’d reminded her though, not just for his sake, but because of how good it had felt when he’d used his spit as lube when giving her a handjob. The real shame was that they didn’t have any actual lube, that would have been really amazing, but she was willing to make due.

Spitting on her palm she rubbed her cock and then, for good measure, she spat on her palm again and used it to lube his ass, because she figured every little bit would help.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Ready.”

That was good, because at this point she probably would have gone ahead even if he hadn’t been. Seeing him on his back, looking up at her with an expression of nervous excitement, was too much. She couldn’t believe that he was up for this, but he was and it was so cool.

There was a moment of resistance as her cock brushed against his ass, but she’d found the right spot and with a little push and a bit of effort she was able to gain entrance.

Alex gasped and she hesitated.

“No, keep going,” he shuddered against her, “It’s not bad, good actually.”

That was all she needed to hear.

Thrusting all the way in she felt him clench around her. No wonder guys were so obsessed with sex. If it felt this good for them she couldn’t blame them.

Slowly she withdrew, almost completely, before thrusting roughly back in. Alex winced and dug his fingers into the moss he was laying on, but didn’t say anything. Next time she was more careful and he nodded.

Not bad for her first time then.

She kept thrusting, marveling at how much better it felt to be the one on top, the one doing the penetrating. It had to be the novelty of the experience, but there was something to be said for that novelty. Still, she wasn’t going to be inconsiderate, she’d had enough boyfriends who were just plain bad at sex that she knew what to avoid. Keeping Alex’s enjoyment in mind she reached down and began giving him a handjob as she thrust into him.

Just thinking of it that way, seeing him below her. His eyes were closed, he was biting his lip and his breathing was in time with her thrusts, a little gasp escaping him every time she went all the way in.

She could feel something, tension maybe, in her stomach, but also in her balls of all places, making her acutely aware of that aspect of her new anatomy.

When she came it was explosive, almost painful. Unable to help herself, she screamed, something she rarely did during sex.

Spasms wracked her body as muscles she hadn’t even known about tensed.

Beneath her Alex moaned, forcing yet another spurt of come out of her. She felt him tense, his cock twitched in her hand and then he came as well, so hard that the majority of it went over his shoulder, though the last stream of it spattered across his chest in a glistening pearly strand.

Sliding free of him she pushed his legs to the side, leaning forward to lick the spatters of come off of him.

He watched her, face flushed, eyes wide.

Then she collapsed down on to the ground next to him, spent and exhausted in a way she’d never been before.

“Okay,” Alex wheezed breathlessly, “Just going to let you know, that was weird, but hot.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, lying face down, “One guy I dated thought it was hot when I’d lick him clean so I…”

“Trust me, it’s hot,” he put a hand on her shoulder, “When we get out of here…”

She turned to face him, “When we get out of here?”

That was the first time he’d been the one to bring up the notion other than to say it wasn’t worth trying.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “When we get out of here I’m going to ask you out, okay?”

“Sure, yeah, we can go out,” she rolled over and propped herself up into a sitting position, wondering where his sudden optimism came from and then deciding that it didn’t matter, “I mean you already asked me and all, so yeah, my answer is yes.”

“That’s cool,” he sat up next to her and pulled a clump of moss from the ground to wipe himself clean.

She did the same and not a moment too soon.

There was a shout and a splash loud enough that it could be heard over the sound of the waterfall.

Immediately the two of them hurried to get dressed, barely managing in time before the others arrived.

“I thought I heard a scream,” Spencer said as Bethany was finishing buttoning her shirt, needing to re-button it when she discovered that she’d missed one of the holes and made a mess of things.

“I…” she started, staring blankly past him. Both Anthony and Martha were soaked, Martha looking especially miserable at the discovery that her outfit left even less to the imagination once it was wet. Anthony on the other hand looked considerably less distressed than he could have, possibly because Martha had yet to notice that he was staring at her.

“She fell in when we were exploring, looking for a way out,” Alex said in a rush.

“Join the club,” Anthony said with a smirk, “She pulled me in, right on top on her when she fell, but it was a nice soft landing, if you get what I mean.”

Martha turned beet red and glared daggers at him.

“I guess you solved the puzzle?” Bethany gave up on the buttons of her vest for a moment, “Because we weren’t able to find anything.”

“We were kind of overthinking it,” Spencer admitted sheepishly, “There were more stepping stones on the other side of the pool and all we had to do was stand in the right place. We kept thinking that there was more to it than that, but literally all we had to do was line up in the right order, something that should have been obvious from what the bird said, and then walk right under the waterfall.”

“Well, I’m glad you figured it out when you did,” Alex said, looking at Bethany with a smile.

“And not a moment too soon,” she agreed, struggling not to laugh at her own joke.

“What about the thing you came here for?” Martha said, looking around the brightly lit beach area, “What was it?”

“Just the tree,” Alex said with a dismissive wave, “Like the food in the bazar, but it’s better tasting. Not that it really does anything. I think it’s like a mechanic that never got implemented.”

“Oh,” the others all said as one while Alex and Bethany shared a secret smile.

“It could have been worse,” Bethany said, “There could have been something dangerous here.”

“That’s true,” Spencer paused and did that look of his.

This time Bethany found it less impressive, because as hot as Smolder Bravestone was, Spencer was nothing like Alex. She could never imagine him agreeing to anything like that and there was something to be said for guys who were actually willing to do things. Like how it was obvious that he and Martha totally had a thing for each other, but neither of them was confident enough to say anything to the other.

“Let’s get out of here,” Martha added, “It’s nice enough here, but it’s not getting us any closer to getting out of the game.”

“You’re right,” Alex took Bethany’s hand and together they started on the way out of the cave, the others following behind.

Martha was wrong, but Bethany wasn’t going to tell her that, because it might raise other questions, the cave had gotten them a lot closer to getting out. It had Alex thinking about escaping the game and what he’d do afterwards, which was huge.

They were going to make it, all five of them together.


End file.
